Originally Posted by
nacho
Instead of destination fees, some hotels in SoCal charges like hell for parking - I was looking to use my 40k cert but then the FS hotel I looked at charges $32 parking, and then you can get the very same spot for $7.95 from a parking app (the condition is that you can't be an overnight guest at the hotel). It's totally ridiculous and it's basically telling people that you will have to pay the insane parking as a fee in order to stay at the hotel.
If the $8 fee doesn't allow overnight parking, then it's not really the same as the $32 fee. But keep looking - I've found more-reasonable overnight rates via parking apps for Chicago and NYC, so wouldn't surprise me if something similar exists in LA/SD.
A lot of the sub-$10 offers (in Chicago, anyway) are for in after 5PM out by 2AM. They want the spots empty for their regular day clients showing up at 8AM.
Originally Posted by
hotelboy
Or you could just go to the hotel's official website. It will list it right there. No need to use multiple shady online travel sites where you end up getting screwed when you think you are saving money.
Hotel sites intentionally hide these bogus fees. We've already established that upthread.
Side note: I have a room next week at the New York Marriott East Side, booked yesterday, entirely with no mention of a resort fee at any point during the booking process. Using a major travel portal whose legitimacy no one would question. Yet I know from Flyertalk that this is a property where this scam exists. It will be interesting to see if they attempt to slip it onto my bill at checkout. In previous stays, I almost always have a couple drinks at the bar so it'll be a wash either way (the $25 resort fee covers $25 in food/bev), but I'm curious what they'll try to pull.